


Trauma Room

by Private_Gallery



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Academy Era, Bones Love, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Original Character(s), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre Star Trek: AOS, Protective Bones, Romance, Slow Burn, Star Trek Beyond, Star Trek: AOS, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Starfleet, Starfleet Academy, Will Eventually Branch into the Films, Will Follow Canon Mostly, slight AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 03:18:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12855591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Private_Gallery/pseuds/Private_Gallery
Summary: Starfleet Academy.It is often viewed by the cadets that attend as the place where their lives changed for the better. For some, however, the change isn't always welcomed or nearly as meaningful.Take Jim Kirk, enlisting on a dare, or Leonard McCoy, enlisting because of a divorce, as prime examples. Prime examples of turning to Starfleet for less than admirable reasons.But for Alice, Starfleet is the first step towards normalcy; something that has been absent all her life.





	1. Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was her last chance to turn around and leave.

The damp morning air seemed to cling to every surface that was exposed to Iowa’s relentless elements. It caused Riverside shipyard to glisten with wet dew as the sunlight filtered through the holes in the starship currently under construction giving the whole yard ethereal atmosphere. The behemoth towering above the yard only adding to the otherworldly feeling. A mountain of industry and technology, the starship remained motionless in silent grace. An edifice to the unknown, the final frontier. A promise of secrets to discover, adventure to be had, and a future full of wonder.

Yet as Alice walked inside its immense shadow, she felt nothing but cold dread with no hope or sun to warm her. She craned her neck to take in the starship that towered above her, shuffling the bag she carried on her shoulder. As she dropped her gaze, Alice could see off in the distance a stream of red-clad cadets entering the last shuttle for Starfleet Academy.

It was her last chance to turn around and leave. It might cause a lot of problems and make all the hard work she had put in for the past few years worthless, but she wouldn’t have to get on the shuttle and fly to San Francisco. Alice began to tap her fingers together—thumb to index, middle, ring, pinky, and then back again—as she weighed her options. She was so caught up in her indecisiveness that she almost didn’t hear the vehicle approaching from behind her. The sound of the engine caught her attention just in time for her to quickly jump to the side of the maintenance road, dropping her bag to her side as she lined herself along the fence.

“Sorry!” came the faint call as some blonde in a leather jacket sped past her on his bike.

 _Idiot_ , Alice thought as she watched him speed towards the shuttle. She slung her bag over her shoulder once more and continued on, hanging closer to the side of the road just in case anyone else was as late to arrive as she was.

“For a moment there I thought I was going to have leave for the Academy without you.”

Alice let out a sigh of frustration before throwing her bag violently into the cargo compartment, her eyes locked on the entrance of the shuttle. “And would that have been the end of the world, Captain Pike?”

“It would have been the end of all your hard work,” Pike answered, sounding exactly like the condescending, gentlemanly asshole who refused to give up on her she remembered him to be.  It took all her will not to give him the satisfaction of a response verbally or physically with the smile that was tugging at the corner of her lips. _God, I missed him_ , she thought beside herself.

“How was Vulcan?” he asked, the gentle gravel of his voice from age and experience pressing her lightly.

Alice finally looked at him.

Her eyes always took Christopher Pike by surprise. The cold glacier blue intense and fierce, able to freeze the unprepared to the spot; the green warm and friendly, though nearly washed out by the blue; and flecks of gold that clung around the edges of her pupil, filling her gaze with glimmering mystery.

“It was warm,” she said coldly.

“Is that all?” Pike asked, his voice informing her that he didn’t appreciate her monosyllabic answer.

“Yes, Captain,” Alice said, her eyes flicker towards the shuttle door. “That is all.” She then held out her hand, insisting that he take the lead inside. Christopher Pike hesitated a moment. He wanted nothing more than to press Alice further, but ended up relenting, making his way to the cockpit, already thinking of a way to bring it up later.

Alice wavered a moment. Crossing the shuttle’s threshold felt as damning as a life sentence. But this was what she had been working towards. This was what she wanted, right?

“I don’t _need_ a doctor, dammit. I _am_ a doctor!”

“You need to take a seat!”

“I had one!” a man’s voice argued. “In the bathroom with no windows!”

 _Father said there’s always one on every shuttle_ … a smile began to tug at the corners of her lips as an amused hum rocked her while Alice stood just inside the door. With constructed patience, she leaned slightly on the edge of the doorway, her head resting lightly on the cool metal.

“You need to get back to your seat _now_ ,” the flight officer, a short and shrewd woman, growled.

 _Just do it…_ Alice willed him, though she was secretly enjoying this morning’s entertainment. She leaned forward just a little bit, trying to get a better view of what was going on.

The man who was adamantly refusing to sit down was a bit older than most cadets. He was scruffy and ill-kept and looked as if he had spent his night in the bottom of a bottle. His jaw was strong and his hazel eyes were intelligent, though, if not also a bit panicked.

“I suffer from aviophobia! That means fear of dying in something that flies!” He gestured to the shuttle that he was now encased in to make his point in case the flight officer incapable of understanding.

But the flight officer was having none of it. “Sir, for your own safety, sit down or else I’ll make you sit down!” Her voice carried an edge that made it evident she would make good on her threat if she had to.

The man, who towered over her by a good foot or so, hesitated for a moment; and from where she was leaning in the doorway, Alice was able to see that he was contemplating making a break for it. But the commander’s glare was forceful, and he finally took a seat, landing in one of two that remained available.

“Thank you,” the flight officer said before storming off to take her own seat, nearly bowling over Alice. “Oh!” the woman said with a start. “You’re lucky. We were just about to take off without you.”

“Lucky?” A raised eyebrow and a hint of sarcasm accompanying the question as Alice made her way to the last seat. “I was trying to miss this shuttle.”

With her choice of none, the only seat remaining was the one that put her next to the man who looked as if he was about to be lead to a firing squad. Of course, the cadet sitting next to him didn’t look much better. Though, calling him a cadet was a stretch seeing as he looked more like the aftermath of being used as a human battering ram. It was only as she drew closer that she recognized him to be the idiot that nearly ran her down.

A snort came from one of the cadets on her left. “Yeah, right,” came a friendly voice. “I don’t think you’ve been late or missed anything in your life.” Uhura’s signature eye roll punctuated her statement.

Alice smirked softly, briefly, “I did once, but it turned out to be a false alarm.”

As she passed, she nudged her friend’s foot playfully before taking her seat, sitting in such a way that made her take up as little room as possible, avoiding the edges of her seat and the people just beyond. Picking at her harness carefully, Alice clicked it together before settling in for the long haul. The man with aviophobia next to her, however, was still struggling to figure out the harness.

“Here,” Alice said calmly, reaching out towards his hands. Her soft fingers brushed against his own, attempting to quiet the shaky and jarring movements of his nervousness, before taking the belt and buckle from him, snapping it together with the relative ease it should have been. “You good?” she asked her quiet voice laced with concern as she removed her hands, massaging them fiercely as if they were sore.

Aviophobia’s eyes flickered momentarily to Alice’s hands, finding the behavior strange before they met her own. “Anything but, sweetheart.” He groaned, nodding his thanks even though his words and behavior suggested he felt the complete opposite.

“ _This is Captain Pike; we’re cleared for takeoff_.”

Aviophobia turned ghostly pale. “I may throw up on ya’.” He offered, the southern lilt turning even that repulsive comment into a slightly charming warning. “Christ…” he hissed when the shuttle jolted upwards, harnesses and metal rattling as it did so.

Battering ram leaned forward slightly. “I think these things are pretty safe,” he said warily.

Aviophobia snorted loudly, turning to face him. “Don’t pander to me, kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds, or a solar flare might crop up and cook us in our seats. And wait ‘til you’re sittin’ pretty with a case’a Andorian Shingles. See if you’re so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding.” The more he went on, the more panic-stricken he became as he listed off every worst case—most likely to never happen—scenario. “Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence!”

“I hate to break this to you, but Starfleet operates in space,” battering ram offered.

Aviophobia huffed, pulling out a flask from his jacket. “Yeah, well, I’ve got nowhere else to go,” his hands were trembling slightly as he unscrewed the top. “The ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I’ve got left are my bones.” He swallowed quickly, fidgeting as the shuttle finally began to even out in its flight before he finally offered it to the battering ram beside him.

“Jim Kirk,” the younger cadet introduced himself with a salute from the flask before taking a sip.

“McCoy. Leonard McCoy.” He went to put the flask back in his jacket when he remembered the woman next to him that had been _kind_ enough to help strap him into his harness, strapping him into his doomed fate. McCoy went to nudge her with his elbow, but she shifted just as he did so, moving enough to cause him to miss. Alice gave him her attention none the less, though, her chaotically intense eyes locking onto his own.

The intensity of her gaze caused him to trip up in what he was going to ask her. “Uh, what about you, Ms. Unlucky-to-have-made-the-Shuttle?” he managed, offering her the flask

She accepted the flask with a ghost of a smile, “Do you want a name or an explanation?” she asked playfully, though quiet and sincere, taking a cautious sniff just above the neck of the flask. _Whiskey. Nice_. She took a sip. _Oh. Very nice._

“I need the distraction, so both,” McCoy answered, his voice slightly strained.

“Well, I’m Alice,” she offered, her voice gentle and understanding as she returned the flask to the doctor. “And as for the explanation…” Alice trailed off, looking for a suitable misdirect. “I’m just naturally indecisive about life-changing decisions.”

“She means that her father’s been trying to convince her to join Starfleet for years,” Uhura piped up, “and she only just finally caved into him.”

Alice glared teasingly at Uhura, “Didn’t know I had a human biography following me around.”

“Just wanted to spare them from whatever lie you were going to tell next.”

“That’s so sweet of you,” Kirk said playfully. Uhura merely rolled her eyes at him.

Chuckling softly, “I don’t lie, I simply omit,” she countered.

“Sweetheart, where I come from that’s one and the same,” McCoy chimed in, his accent dripping heavily into his words. That southern charm.

“And that would be Georgia, right?” Kirk said. He had this goofy smile, “Your accent is marvelous.”

“Yeah, and so is your face,” McCoy growled, leaning forward so that he could get a better look. “Did you throw yourself against a wall repeatedly?

Kirk’s smile remained as he sheepishly glanced over at the other cadets who looked like they had been on the wrong side of a fist. “Yeah, you could say that.” He shoved McCoy flat against his seat, though, so he could look at Alice. “Enough about me, though. What’s her name?” His crystalline blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as he jerked his thumb towards her friend.

“Uhura,” Alice replied.

“No, her first name.”

“You’re new to Starfleet, so I’ll let you in on how things work,” Alice teased. “Any female cadet with an ounce of self-respect doesn’t give out her name to any guy with pretty eyes and a decent smile.”

“You think I have pretty eyes?” His smile grew, and Alice instantly regretted saying anything.

The shuttle suddenly jerked, throwing the cadets inside against their harnesses. “Christ,” McCoy hissed. He had been content to let the kid and Alice continue with their childish banter with him stuck in the middle, letting it be a well-needed distraction. Now he sat stiffly in his seat, eyes forced close in white-knuckled fear.

Both Alice and Kirk immediately stopped with their conversation and looked at him, concern etched in their features. Clearly, the conversation hadn’t been enough. Alice’s eyes quickly scanned the shuttle.

“Jesus Christ,” Alice exclaimed loud enough to draw McCoy’s attention. Before Kirk had a chance to react, she was grabbing his right wrist, pulling it in front of McCoy. “What did you do to your hand?”

Kirk ripped his arm out of her grasp. “Nothing,” he grumbled, his smile disappearing and a look of betrayal ghosting his features. “I’ll live.”

But it was enough for McCoy to open his eyes, and glance over at Kirk. He was just in time to catch a glimpse of the bloody mess that was Kirk’s hand. He automatically reached out to assess the damage. _Once a doctor, always a doctor_ , Alice thought, pleased with herself. But Kirk pulled back defensively.

“I’m a doctor,” McCoy grumbled but didn’t apologize for the intrusion.

“I heard,” Kirk said, his smirk returning as he tried to cover up his flinch. His eyes caught Alice’s a flicker of understanding lighting in them before he finally offered up his hand to McCoy.

“What were you fighting? The brick walls you were throwing yourself against?” he asked.

“One of ‘em felt like it,” Kirk said, smiling wryly. His eyes looked up from what McCoy was doing and at Alice, catching her eyes as she mouthed _thank you_.

“I heard there was a barroom brawl last night,” McCoy continued, gently running his fingers over Kirk’s swollen mess of a hand. “Had to patch up four morons built like brick shithouses.” He looked up only momentarily at him before continuing. “Did you have anything to do with that?”

“It was just a small misunderstanding.” He gave McCoy an obnoxious grin, and it was no wonder why four people wanted to punch him in the face last night.

“Misunderstanding, my ass,” McCoy sneered. “You’re lucky you didn’t break anything.” He released Kirk’s hand. “You need to report to medical as soon as we land.”

“Sure thing, doc,” Kirk said easily, though it was clear by the tone of his voice that he had no intention of doing so. He looked around McCoy at Alice. “So I was thinking—”

“Did it physically hurt you to do so?” Alice teased.

But Kirk ignored the comment with soft laughter. “You gave me your first name…”

“I gave _Doctor_ Leonard McCoy my name,” she corrected him.

McCoy straightened up, looking slightly offended. “You don’t think I have ‘pretty eyes and a decent smile,’ sweetheart?”

Alice gave him a small, shy smile, “That’s not what I meant to imply… but I wouldn’t know about the smile.”

McCoy huffed softly beside her, something that if anyone else had done would actually sound like a faint chuckle, but his nervousness and grumpy manner made it sound malcontented. He looked at the woman, Alice, beside him one last time before resting his head against the back of his seat, closing his eyes and clenching his fists in fear while he waited for the shuttle ride to be over.

 “So, Alice, how do you two know each other?” McCoy heard the kid next to him continue to pester her.

Alice pitched forward to look at him. “You’re still going on about that?”

“Call me curious.”

“Really? I was going to go with stubborn, single-minded, and pig-headed,” Uhura commented, her voice equally sarcastic and annoyed.

“That’s not nice,” Kirk whimpered playfully.

Alice sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. “We were both studying at the Vulcan Academy together, happy?”

There was a soft thump as the shuttle landed, and Alice was quickly undoing her harness before any of the other cadets had even thought about getting out of their seats. McCoy’s eyes snapped open and he began to scan the interior, a look of confusion on his face as if he couldn’t believe they had actually landed and that he was still alive.

Alice turned her attention to McCoy as she stood up, flashing him the first honest smile he had seen from her. “It was nice meeting you, Dr. McCoy.”

“Oh and Kirk,” Alice said before she exited the shuttle. “It’s Khan to you.”

“What the hell kind of name is that?” Kirk exclaimed.

“It’s my last name, genius.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray! The first chapter of my first attempt at a Star Trek story is done.
> 
> Please feel free to tell me what you think. I love reading any and all comments.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	2. Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn’t shortly after the brief burst of optimism that McCoy had realized just how wrong that statement was. Here really was as bad as he thought it was going to be, but not for the reasons he thought.

McCoy stared after Alice as she exited the shuttle, nearly as mesmerized as he had been when he first spotted her.

The way she carried herself, she could command the entire room if she wanted to, yet she kept to herself, remaining quiet in her mannerisms and behavior even though you would expect of her. It was the first thing that he noticed about Alice. When she had made her way to her seat, she slipped past everyone gracefully, making sure not to bump into anyone; and when she had taken her seat, she did all she could to make herself smaller, avoiding any contact with those next to her. It was as if she were afraid of her own beauty that demanded the attention of everyone in the room. The second thing he noticed was her eyes. McCoy had never seen eyes so vibrant and unique in his life, although that wasn’t completely true. He saw it in a textbook back in med-school: _sectoral heterochromia iridium_ _,_ _a genetic mutation that effects eye pigment._  Glacier blue, forest green and shimmering gold, the color of her eyes was only amplified by her long ebony hair and pale complexion.

Her features were almost the polar opposite of his wife, and yet her beauty was the same if not greater.

An elbow jabbing into his ribs pulled him from his observations. The kid beside him was smiling at him with a shit-eating grin. “Looks like she has a thing for you. I suggest you make sure you bump into her. Several times if you get what I’m saying.” The foolhardy wink he threw in made McCoy want to punch him in his already bruised and bloody face.

“Please,” McCoy sneered. “A girl like wouldn’t want anything to do with someone like me. Besides,” he pulled out his flask and took another sip before getting up from his seat. “I did the whole relationship thing once and ended up here. What makes you think I want to go through that horseshit again?”

“Come on, Bones,” Kirk said, enthusiasm saturating his words as his eyes noticeably traced down the figure of the female cadet, Uhura, in front of him. “Here’s not so bad.”

“Bones?” he asked as he exited the shuttle, the warm San Francisco air hitting him.

Kirk spun back to face him. “Well, all you’ve got left are your bones right?” He asked, clasping McCoy on the shoulder playfully. The kid’s whole enthusiasm and eagerness reminded McCoy of a puppy. It was something that was going to get really old really quickly.

“Don’t call me that,” McCoy threatened him with a low growl.

What would have made even the most intimidating of people think twice, Kirk merely laughed off; before he could fire off some wise ass remark, however, a very loud and commanding voice interrupted him.

“Kirk!” Captain Pike hollered, waving for the kid to approach.

“I’ll be right there, sir!” Kirk punched McCoy in the shoulder playfully. “See you around, Bones,” he said as a teasing farewell before taking off.

McCoy opened his mouth to yell at the kid to knock it off with the stupid nickname but realized there wasn’t any point. Instead, he waved him off, thankful that he was likely to never see that idiot again before he went to retrieve his things from the cargo hold of the shuttle.

As he waited in line, he was able to spot Alice’s ink black hair and slim silhouette walking away from the crowd, bag slung over her shoulder as she walked away from the docking area. Something caught her attention though, and she turned around, waiting patiently with an impatient hand on her hip as a cadet Uhura caught up with her. Even at a distance, Alice’s eyes were still dazzling.

McCoy smirked, Here might not be so bad after all.

* * *

 

It wasn’t shortly after the brief burst of optimism that McCoy had realized just how wrong that statement was. Here really was as bad as he thought it was going to be, but not for the reasons he thought.

Everything at Starfleet Academy had one motto that it stuck by as though lives depended on it: hurry up and wait.

_Hurry up to retrieve the ridiculous amount of clothing you were required to wear on campus for various reasons and wait in a long line to receive them only to have to hurry and lug all of it back to_ the dorms. Then once you were there, you had to wait to figure out which dorm you were assigned all while still carrying your heavy gear in the hot San Francisco sun. After you found your dorm, you had to drop off your gear, and hurry over to the advising center where you had to wait over an hour to finally be called in by an academic advisor. An academic advisor who didn’t listen to a word you said while creating your schedule and shoving you out of the door after five minutes with a piece of paper that was your schedule and a reminder not to be late to evening formation for physical training.

Which is where McCoy was now, dressed in the bland grey and black Starfleet standard issue PT uniform, equally as tired as he was miserable from the longest day of his life. Or from the alcohol from the night before that had finally caught up with him. One thing good be certain though, the splitting headache was caused by an awful decision on his part.

It was as he was assigned to a platoon in the PT formation that he realized he had been wrong on two counts. Not only was being here worse than he imagined, but he would also be seeing that annoying little shit from the shuttle much more often than he thought. The look on the kid’s face when he saw him approaching the platoon was like throwing a match on the impulse fuel that was McCoy’s anger and frustration.

“Bones!” Kirk greeted him, flashing him an obnoxious smile.

“I thought I told you to cut it out with that stupid name,” McCoy grumbled, lining up in the platoon. The whole discipline, yes-sir, line up straight, stand up at attention, the monotonous routine was easy to learn but difficult to conform to as quickly as the instructor’s wanted. Thankfully he had arrived early and didn’t need to be quite so perfect while standing at ease in the platoon.

“You know, I think you might have mentioned that,” he teased. “I also think I might’ve chosen to ignore you at that moment too.”

McCoy eyed the kid. He had cleaned the blood and dirt off of his face and was wearing the same PT uniform as him. It made it easier to see the bruises on his hand and the defensive wounds on his arms from blocking. His face was still slightly swollen, though, as was his hand.

“Did you also ignore me when I told you to go to medical?” McCoy glared at him, daring Kirk to lie to him.

“No, I went,” Kirk answered. “I walked in, and then right back out.”

“Listen, dumbass—” McCoy started, getting ready to give Kirk the lecture of a lifetime, but quickly found himself being talked over.

“Hey, look who it is!” Kirk exclaimed, McCoy’s earlier observation of him behaving like a puppy holding to be true.

“Unbelievable,” McCoy hissed as Kirk’s attention was snapped away, but he turned to see what Kirk deemed to be so much more damn important than his own health.

McCoy nearly forgave Kirk when he saw Alice approaching their platoon, however. Her chaotic eyes seemed to give her a dangerous look as she walked towards them.

Alice was wearing the same PT uniform as they were: grey short sleeve with a small collar and black pants. Though on her, it didn’t look quite as ridiculous as McCoy thought it did. The uniform hung to her slender form well, hugging her curves. Her ebony hair was pulled up into a tight bun, making her look much more serious than she had in her civilian clothes. Out of everyone here, Alice looked the most like someone who belonged in Starfleet, belonged in the uniform.

“Look who’s in the same platoon as we are,” Kirk chuckled once Alice was close to them. “High-five!” And like a five-year-old child, he rose his hand expectantly.

Alice snorted, shaking her head as she did so. “I’m going to leave you hanging there.”

Kirk dropped his hand, clearly looking disappointed. “What’s the matter, Alice, afraid to make friends?”

“Khan,” she corrected him. “And I don’t mind making friends, I just prefer them at a distance.”

“Alright,” Kirk said, sounding serious for the first time since McCoy had me him. He even took a half step back from her, an unexpected courtesy.

Alice clearly didn’t expect him to give her distance either, eyeing him curiously before she turned her attention to McCoy, giving him a small smile in greeting, “I take it we have a portion the K, L, and M last names in this platoon?” McCoy nodded. “Lucky me,” she said, but the smile Alice had worn turned into a frown. “You look terrible, Doctor.”

“Gee, thanks,” McCoy grumbled, crossing his arms defensively.

Kirk, however, found her observation hilarious. “Go easy on him, Alice,” he laughed, refusing to use her last name in a _you made your bed, now lie in it_ sort of way. “It looks like Bones can’t hold his booze.”

“And it looks like you don’t know how to hold your own in a fight,” McCoy sneered.

“At least I don’t need to be half drunk to fly on a shuttle,” Kirk retorted, his smile only growing.

“At least it doesn’t look like my face was dragged across the pavement—”

Alice’s laughter caught them both by surprise. Until then she had only given them half smiles and slight teasing. Her giggling—because that’s what her quiet laughter could only be considered as—was soft and playful as she tried to hide it behind one of her pale, slender hand.

“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to rain in her laughter. “Please continue bickering like children.”

McCoy hadn’t even realized what he was doing up until that point. Apparently, Kirk’s obnoxious immaturity had managed to rub off on him in the short time that he was exposed. _Kid’s like a disease_ , McCoy thought bitterly, straightening up as he quickly shut up.

Alice regained her composure and then shot Kirk a questioning look. “What was that you called him? Bones?”

“Alright everyone, form up!” the shout from this evening’s PT instructor prevented Kirk from answering her.

McCoy didn’t even bother stifling his groan as they lined up in the proper formation, alphabetical order in squads. In front of him, he heard Kirk chuckling softly, his laughter trailing from behind him. McCoy hoped that he could feel the murderous glare he was using on the back of his head that would have given actual murderers pause.  The swift jab to the ribs he saw Alice give him with her right elbow as he stood beside her was almost satisfactory, though.

When standing at attention, your arms are quite literally pinned to your sides with your hands clenched into loose fists. McCoy wondered if the position was meant to be uncomfortable so as to remind everyone who had to do it to superior officers how insignificant they truly were in comparison. But as he was looking forward, eyes front as it were, he noticed something odd about Alice.

She stood tensely, more so than the cadets around her; and her shoulders were hunched, reminiscent of someone who was standing on a crowded train, avoiding touching those around them. Her left hand wasn’t really clenched like her right, and her thumb was tracing lightly across her fingertips.

“Cadet McCoy, eyes front!”

After receiving the basic rundown on what was going to happen, a lengthy ordeal of the instructor calling out routine and expectations, they were broken off into pairs to determine their levels of fitness. Khan and Kirk ended up together, and McCoy was paired with some cadet whose name might have been mentioned but he didn’t bother trying to remember.

Back during med-school, he had played college ball with a few friends, nothing professional, but enough to keep him active. Afterwards, he had thankfully kept it up, making the push-ups and sit-ups he had to do to the best of his ability in a minute much easier than it was for some of the other cadets around him. As he was holding his nameless partner’s ankles for the sit-ups, he had the chance to survey the other cadets.

McCoy was able to recognize a few of the cadets from those that had been waiting around the advising center for those who wanted to pursue the medical track. He felt a little bit of relief when he saw them struggling and performing much more pathetically then he thought he was.

Any optimism in his ability faded rather quickly when he looked at the mile-long loop of an obstacle course that loomed before him. McCoy thought he was probably projecting his resentment of having to do the course, but the shadows that stretched out from the obstacles themselves in the dwindling made the whole thing look ominous and dangerous.

“Looks like fun, right?” Kirk asked, clasping hi from behind on his shoulder.

“If you enjoy pain and punishment,” McCoy grumbled, his upper lip raised into a sneer as he shook his head. There was no way he was going to make through this thing without either breaking something or dying. “Not all of us can be masochists like you.”

“Aw, come on, Bones! Live a little!”

But McCoy ignored him, instead, he looked for Alice. She didn’t say too much, but she seemed to have a way to keep Kirk’s enthusiasm from becoming overpoweringly obnoxious and from keeping McCoy from punching him.

Kirk nudged him. “I’ll race you to the end.”

“Do I look like I give a damn if you beat me?”

“You _look_ like you’re gonna throw up,” Kirk answered with a smirk.

“Can’t you annoy Khan or anyone else around here?”

The instructor blew a whistle signaling for the next group to line up at the starting point for the course. McCoy dropped into a reluctant starter position, waiting for buzzer to mark this overly elaborate suicide attempt

“It doesn’t seem to faze her, and your more fun and convenient.” Kirk didn’t even bother taken any kind of ready position. “Plus I’m worried about you.”

“You’re worried about me?” McCoy asked, in disbelief. _Who the hell does this kid think he is_?

“Yeah,” Kirk eyed McCoy up and down. “I didn’t know they let _old_ people enlist.

“Old?” McCoy yelled, a mixture of disbelief and anger. The buzzer went off and Kirk rushed forward. And McCoy lunged after Kirk. “I’ll give you old, you little shit!”

* * *

 

“Well done, Bones!” Kirk grinned as they skidded to a halt.

McCoy had gone through the entire obstacle course just out of arms reach of Kirk, determined to make sure that the immature punk didn’t show him up. He climbed over various sizes and degrees of walls, crawled through trenches of different depths and barriers, and overall charged through whatever came next in order to keep up with Kirk, who made it through the entire course with an athletic grace that McCoy could only, Towards the end of the course he had started to nearly trip on his own feet, but the good doctor had been too stubborn to slow down. He’d be damned if let Kirk get away with calling him old.

 “I hate you,” McCoy gasped, the burning in his lungs making it difficult to breathe, let alone speak as he remained hunched over, hands braced against his knees. The anger he felt towards Kirk was only amplified when he noticed that he wasn’t having any difficulty breathing after running.

 “Sure you do,” Kirk laughed. “Will you still hate me when I point out our welcome party?”

McCoy looked where he was pointing, only to see Alice approaching, carrying three bottles of water towards him. “Maybe a little less,” he grumbled, straightening up.

Her eyes met his own. “You alright?”

“I need a drink,” McCoy sighed, exhaustion softening his features.

Alice flipped the bottle in her hand around so that she had a hold of it from the neck. “Guess it’s a good thing I brought you two slackers water, huh?” she teased.

“Wrong kind of dink, sweetheart,” McCoy said, graciously accepting the water with a half-smile.

“Well for that,” Alice said, tossing Kirk his water bottle impersonally, “there’s a bar a few blocks off campus. Not many other cadets know about it. Drinks at nine?” She asked, her eyes flickering between McCoy and Kirk.

“I’m always up for a drink in the presence of a beautiful woman,” Kirk said, flashing his nicest smile, his blue eyes only adding to his charm. Alice rolled her eyes at Kirk before directing them towards McCoy.

“Nine it is,” McCoy confirmed with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that marks the second chapter of my first Star Trek fic. I'm quite excited to keep it going.
> 
> I am always welcome to reviews of any kind. Please let me know what you honestly think. Your feedback is always appreciated.
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy the story thus far.


	3. Drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was her kind nature, or maybe it was because she had answered his questions, but Leonard found himself giving her an answer.

The lack of direct sunlight caused the temperature to drop quite a bit from the blistering San Francisco heat that punctuated the earlier hours. Alice almost regretted not grabbing a jacket. _Then again_ , she realized, _Vulcan’s volcanic surface may have spoiled me a little bit._

She was standing on the corner just outside the bar—her standard issue Starfleet uniform was abandoned for a navy blue tank top and white washed jeans—as she waited, prepared to say it was under the auspices of making sure that Leonard and Jim didn’t get lost even though she had sent them the address and directions. Truthfully, though, Alice didn’t want to face the crowded bar alone. Leonard and Jim proved to be good distractions from everything going on around her. Especially Jim.

Alice chuckled softly to herself. Jim certainly knew how to talk.

And he was anything but the man she expected him to be.

Her father would always get onto the topic of George Kirk and what Starfleet had lost with his death. It wasn’t until about the second or third glass, that he would bring him up; but it was always the same thing: instinct, courage, valor, and leaping before looking. The picture it painted was the complete opposite of Jim Kirk. Jim was loud, obnoxious, a horrible flirt only because he never stopped flirting, and seemed to take very little serious. _Remarkably put together for someone with that kind of birthday_. _Though, maybe he really was as strong of a character as his father, even if the character was a bit different._

Doctor Leonard McCoy was just as confounding as Jim was as well. He was almost the complete opposite of what you’d expect from a doctor, making the uneasiness Alice felt around all doctors almost nonexistent. She felt at ease with him, even though he clearly made those around him—aside from Him and herself—uneasy, or baffled at the very least, by his rough, bitter behavior. _Rough around the edges because he cares too much and it breaks him_ , she recognized. The fact that she could relax at all around him was surprising to her, though, given that—

_No!_ Alice began to massage her hands fiercely, wringing them together slightly as she got her breathing back under control _._ She quickly dropped her hands to her sides when she saw Leonard and Jim crossing the street to join her.

Tonight was a night to drink with new friends. Alice wasn’t about to screw that up.

Jim was wearing the same leather jacket from the shuttle, though he had cleaned off the contents of the bar fight off of it, with a beige shirt underneath and faded blue jeans. Leonard was wearing a blue flannel shirt, unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up and a black shirt underneath and dark jeans. Jim’s normally messy hair was brushed, and Leonard’s normally well-kempt hair was tussled slightly. It was the first time Alice had seen either them relaxed.

Once they were within earshot, Alice pushed herself off of the lamppost she had been leaning against, a smile tugging lightly at the corner of her lips. “Wow, I wouldn’t have believed it, but you boys actually do clean up nice.”

Jim looked at her with a playful mixture of hurt and betrayal, like a puppy that had been left behind at the house, his crystal blue eyes holding mischief that let her know he was joking. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well I’ve only seen either of you either beaten to a pulp,” her harsh eyes meeting Jim’s, “in drunken misery,’ she turned her gaze to Leonard, “or sweating like dogs,” which applied to both of them.

“You know I could counter that,” Jim said wryly, “but I’m not really in the mood to get slapped.”

“Smart man,” Alice teased him before leading them both into the bar.

Unlike most, Joe’s Bar only faintly smelled like vomit mixed with the strong aroma of alcohol; and it was much cleaner. The music wasn’t nearly as loud or annoying, tending to have a classical vibe in its selection. And most importantly, there were no cadets in that God awful red uniform.

“Alice!” the bartender exclaimed as the three of them entered. “It’s been forever!”

“It’s been six months, Joe,” Alice replied, her voice friendly if not a slight bit condescending. “Hardly, forever.”

Jim looked over at Leonard. “So the owner’s name is Joe,” Alice heard him whisper. “Never would have seen that coming—” but he was cut off when Leonard jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow.

“I guess I just missed your smiling face,” he teased. “Who are the guys escorting you?” Joe asked, motioning to them offhandedly while continuing to dry off a glass.

“Friends form the academy.” Alice slid onto a barstool, propping her elbows on the counter, resting her head on her hands. Jim and Leonard followed suit. Jim on her right, Leonard on her left.

“So your father finally got you to enlist huh?” Joe set the glass he was cleaning down. “I imagine it’s the usual for you then?”

“Make it two shots of vodka,” Alice sighed, shaking her head. “It’s been a long day.”

Joe nodded, pulling out two shot glasses and pouring them for her before turning to Jim and Leonard.

“Bones, here will have an old-fashioned, to remind him of his youth,” Jim said, an obnoxious grin plastered on his face.

“Old fashioned—” McCoy started before shooting Jim a murderous glare. “Dammit, Kirk, I’m 28, not a fucking dinosaur!” He turned to Joe. “Whiskey. You know what, make it a double. It’s been a long day and I’ve had to put up with this asshole for most of it.”

“Oh, come on, Bones,” Jim laughed. “You know you love me.” Then to Joe, “Bourbon, neat.”

Alice chuckled softly, “All we need is a fourth named Tequila and we have all our bases covered.” Beside her, Leonard chuckled. She rose the first of her shots but stayed herself from drinking it. “Is this the part where we make some profound toast?”

“It doesn’t have to be profound, sweetheart,” Bones said, raising his glass, inspecting the liquid that sloshed around slightly.

“Then here’s to the best and worse decisions of our entire lives,” Alice said with a soft smile.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Leonard grumbled, clinking his glass lightly against hers.

“I can drink to that,” Jim agreed, following suit.

Alice downed the first shot in one quick swallow before quickly pounding the other one before either Jim or Leonard made it through half of theirs. And she ignored the raised eyebrow look of amusement from Leonard and the seemingly knowing smirk from Jim. “I’ll take two more, Joe.”

“Alright,” Joe said, shaking his head as he grabbed the bottle. “First round was on me as a ‘welcome back’ gift, now the drinks are on you.”

“Yeah, I know.” Alice picked up her third and downed it swiftly. “Put it on my tab,” she said with a wince.

Leonard had just finished his own. “I think I’m going to open up a tab as well.”

“I second that motion. Can I get another?” Jim said, setting his glass down loudly. But a group of blonds and brunettes caught his attention. “Oh…” He followed them not so subtly, spinning like a child on the barstool. “On second thought, I’ll hold off on that second drink for now.” And then he was gone.

“Unbelievable,” McCoy groaned before he grabbed Alice’s fourth shot and downed it.

“Hey,” Alice cried out in playful protest. “That was mine.”

“Then let me buy you another one.”

The intensity of his hazel eyes as they locked onto her own would have been enough to make her blush if she had actually managed to get to her fourth shot before Leonard. And it wasn’t just the eyes. That southern drawl of his was almost as intoxicating as the alcohol rushing through her system, already making her feel a little bubbly. And he had this half smirk on his face, taking off the rough edge he remained hardened with.

Alice leaned towards him just slightly. “I don’t let anyone buy me a drink.”

“She doesn’t,” Joe agreed, appearing almost out of thin air from his place behind the counter.

“Thanks, Joe,” he said sarcastically. Then Leonard smiled at Alice, flipping the glass upside-down before setting it on the counter. “Then it looks like you’re going to need to buy yourself another drink.”

* * *

 

“Pro basketball?” Alice asked in disbelief, shaking her head. It was so much easier for her to smile, especially when her ebony hair fell chaotically around her and tickled her face. It was probably the most relaxed and carefree she had looked an been in months.

They had been in the bar for a little over an hour now. Several shots and drinks had made Leonard open up and smile nearly as much as Alice was. He had remained by her side at the counter, letting Joe refill his glass, while Jim had his arm slung around some blond, making her giggle almost every minute like clockwork. But Alice didn’t mind.

“You wanted to be a pro basketball player?” She couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

“Why is it everyone laughs when I tell them that?” Leonard asked, sipping casually from his beer.

“I think it’s just hard to imagine is all.” Alice smiled, tracing her finger lightly along the rim of her shot glass. “I mean you barely made it through that obstacle course.”

Leonard frowned, though his slight smile remained. “You don’t have to crawl under barbed wire or maneuver over six-foot walls in basketball.”

The glacier blue of her eyes sparkled with light, “That would be awesome,” she breathed before finally picking up shot number unknown and downing it. “I might actually be able to sit through a game without falling asleep before it even starts.”

Leonard chuckled softly, taking a swig of his beer. “What about you? Didn’t you want to be anything other than what you are?”

_Normal._ It was almost out of her mouth before she realized. But by sheer luck she managed to stop herself, the near slip sobering her up slightly even though her recent shot was still making her float.

She smiled to misdirect. “I don’t know,” she answered, shaking her head.

“Come on,” Leonard said, disbelieving edge to his words. “There has to be something crazy or adorable you wanted to be ‘when you grew up.’” He even added his own little quotations with his fingers.

Alice stared at the wall for a second, before chuckling softly. There hadn’t really been anything until she was twelve, but she remembered what she _wanted to be_ back when naiveté and innocence were novel concepts.

“Okay,” Alice relented. “Let’s make a bet out of it.” Her eyes shimmered with mischief. “I’ll let you buy me a drink. If it’s a good one, and I like it, I’ll tell you. If not…” she thought of a suitable punishment. “You pick up my tab the next time we’re in here.”

“You’ll let me buy you a drink?” Leonard asked in complete bewilderment, propping himself on his elbows.

“Buy me a drink, Leonard?” Alice toned down the smile from drunken happy to friendly insistent as she gave him a puppy dog look that easily rivaled Jim’s.

“Leon,” he corrected her.

“You mean your nickname isn’t Bones?” she said with feigned innocence.

He scoffed. “No.”

She nudged him playfully with her hand. “Buy me a drink, _Leon_?”

Leonard had to look away from her radiant gaze before nodding. “Joe!” he hollered, his voice carrying over the noise from music and multitudes of conversation. It wasn’t until the heavyset bartender made his way over that Alice caught a playful gleam in his hazel eyes. “What’s her favorite drink?”

“Mai tai—”

“Joe!”

“What?” he asked, looking bewildered.

But Alice had turned her attention from Joe back to Leonard. “That’s cheating!”

“You didn’t say I couldn’t,” he laughed. “One mai tai for the lady, please. On my tab.”

“Coming right up.”

Leonard looked at her, a knowing smirk before downing the last of his beer. Alice scowled playfully. “I’ll get you back for this,” she vowed.

“I bet you will, sweetheart,” he said. “But at least it will be after you tell me what you wanted to be before adult life smacked you with reality.”

“Maybe you should have been a poet _and_ basketball player with such colorful language.”

“And maybe you should quit stalling,” he teased, pointing to the freshly made drink Joe had just set on the counter.

Alice didn’t break eye contact as she picked up her mai tai and took the longest drink in history from a hurricane glass before she slowly set it down. “I wanted to raise horses.”

But Leonard McCoy didn’t laugh. “Really?” he asked, genuine curiosity. “I didn’t figure you the type.”

“And you know this _type_ , huh?”

“Yup,” he answered. “Parents own a ranch in Georgia. Always had five or more out in the fields”

It was Alice’s turn to be curious. “Really?”

“Mhm,” Leonard hummed. But his tone made it obvious that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, and Alice knew better than to push for details that weren’t freely given.

Their conversation may have trailed off, but there certainly wasn’t any silence. Laughter, loud voices, and music still punctuated the atmosphere. Leonard ordered another beer, and Alice continued to work on the sweet drink that had been ordered for her when movement from the door caught her attention. A taller man with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes entered the bar. His gaze found Alice.

“Shit!” Alice hissed, pitching forward and letting her hair fall across her face as though it would hide her. It was a futile attempt, she knew that, but the foolish always cling to hope.

“Alice Khan,” the man said, his booming voice locking her up. He came to stand beside her, slapping the counter as he did, causing her to jump. “I thought when you left for Vulcan, you were gone for good.”

Alice didn't look up at him; instead, she leaned away from him, towards Leonard. “I guess you thought wrong, Jason,” she answered quietly, finishing her drink her drink with rigid movements.

Jason laughed mockingly, taking a step towards her. It was as she shrank away that Leonard stood up.

“Is there a problem here?” He asked, hazel eyes with a threatening glow to them.

“And who are you, asshole?” Jason became defensive but didn’t back off.

“ _Doctor_ Leonard McCoy of Starfleet,” Leonard said strongly. “Is there a problem here?”

Jason looked Leonard up and down with a critical eye, a sneer permanently fixed on his face before he ignored his repeated question. “Is this southern hick my replacement?” He asked, anger coloring his words in red.

By now they had drawn the eyes of the people around them. The ambient conversation grew quieter by those around them as they instead talked about what was happening. From across the room, Jim was untangling himself from the nameless girl wrapped around his neck.

Alice looked at him. “That’s enough, Jason.”

Jason shook his head in disbelief. “I’ll let you know when it’s enough,” his eyes flickered to Leonard then back to her, “ _darlin’_ ,” he added, in a horribly mocking fake accent.

Leonard was there, though, coming in between Jason and Alice by shoving him backward, causing Jason to stumble as he collided with the barstool behind him. He straightened himself out quickly, drawing up to his full height, ready for a fight, but Leonard stopped him.

“Would you like to see how fast I can put you in a hospital?” It may have been worded as a question, but Leonard put his full weight behind the threat. Clenched fists and a firmly set jaw made Leonard look dangerous.

Jim came up from behind Jason. “Doctor’s. They know how to put you together,” He came to stand beside Alice as well, “and they’re the best at taking people apart.”

Jason’s eyes flickered from Jim to Leonard before settling faintly on Alice. “Fine,” he relented tensely, then his gaze focused on Leonard. “Word of advice, don’t waste your time on this one. It’s not like she’s going to let you touch her anyway.”

But Leonard didn’t dignify Jason with a response, merely stared him down. Jason sneered before he finally took the hint.

“You alright?” Jim asked as soon as Jason had slammed the door behind him.

“I’m fine, Jim,” Alice said, forcing a smile for him. “Go back to your antics.”

Jim didn’t believe her and hesitated in leaving. It was only the slight nod from Leonard, one that Alice seemed to miss, that finally got him to leave her alone about it.

Leonard returned to the barstool he had been sitting at before the intrusion into their night. “Can we get a couple of beers?” he asked as Joe walked by before turning his attention to Alice. “He your ex-boyfriend or something?”

Alice took a swig from the bottle Joe offered her. “Yup.”

“Well then, it looks like we have one thing in common.” Alice’s flat questioning look made him continue. “Bad breakups that led to questionable decisions”

Alice scoffed. “I guess we do.”

They both nursed their drinks in silence for a bit. The whole incident had been sobering for the both of them, though Leonard had sobered up slightly for Alice’s benefit more so than anything.

“So how did you tow split up?” Leonard finally asked though he did so offhandedly as if he didn’t really expect her to answer.

And Alice almost didn’t. She didn’t owe him an answer just because he and Jim had scared Jason off, and she didn’t like to talk about it. But there was something in his voice other than curiosity and his normal gruff. It was the compassion that he buried underneath his rough stoicism.

“He gave me an ultimatum six months ago,” she sighed before taking a large gulp of her beer. “And I made my choice.”

“Did you see it coming?”

“Not when he made me choose, no,” she admitted. “But now…I should have seen it coming from miles away.” Alice turned towards him. “What about you?”

He didn’t give an immediate response, hesitating to answer. “It was after a touch and go surgery when a man in a suit approached me, clearly a lawyer since no one wears suits in a hospital. When he handed me the folder I thought malpractice suit, an order to appear in court, or a hundred other reasons he was there.” He took a swig of beer. “I guess that was my problem,” he sighed. “I didn’t even think of my wife until I was told they were divorce papers.” Leonard met her gentle gaze. “I was surprised then, but not now. I didn’t give her the attention someone like her demands or deserves.”

“Well, she didn’t give you’re the chance you deserved. She didn’t think you were worth it, worth the effort to make it work.” But Leonard only chuckled dryly. Alice paused for a moment. “Did you love her?”

“Did you love him?” he countered quickly.

Alice frowned slightly. “I did, but I always found myself thinking that I wasn’t enough for him.” She shrugged. “That he wanted something more than what I was giving him.”

“He didn’t deserve your love then, sweetheart.”

“Right,” she scoffed.

“I loved her,” Leonard admitted. “A part of me still does, but something changed a little over a year ago. I think that’s part of the reason she divorced me.”

“What changed?” Alice asked tenderly.

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was her kind nature, or maybe it was because she had answered his questions, but Leonard found himself giving her an answer. “She found out that she couldn’t have kids.”

Alice swallowed hard. _That’s certainly awful_. “Alright,” she sighed, “you win.”

“I win?”

“Yeah,” she waved Joe over. “Your breakup was way more fucked up than mine.”

Leonard laughed bitterly before shooting her a genuine smile. “I suppose it is.”

“Two shots of Jack, straight up.” Alice then rose her glass once they were poured. “To the drunken exes. May we never go through that bullshit again.”

“Amen to that, sweetheart,” Leonard said with a smirk, crashing his shot glass against Alice’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I decided to embrace the whole "butterfly effect" route with the alternate reality caused by Spock Prime when it came to Leonard's wife since there is no mention of his daughter. If the next Star Trek (XIII) mentions his daughter, then I guess it's AU time.
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you think, and thank you for reading!


	4. Kirk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six months ago if he had found himself in their company, he would have thought that he had finally hit the bottom, that it couldn’t get much worse. Now, as he found himself walking around a goddamn campus in a tacky red uniform with the promise of space travel looming before him, he optimistically—and uncharacteristically—thought that he might be digging himself out of the sinking pit.

Kirk’s crystal blue eyes were slightly red when he dropped his tray loudly on the table across of McCoy before hoisting himself onto the bench with a loud groan. McCoy looked up at him from his own breakfast, chuckling softly as he shook his head.

“Didn’t stop drinking last night did you?” he asked, not even attempting to mask the amusement in his voice.

“You drank almost as much as I did last night,” Kirk glared. “How are you in a better mood than me?”

“Perks of being a doctor, kid,” he answered. “I know how to cure a hangover.”

“Show off.”

McCoy smirked before continuing to eat what the Academy tried to pass as edible food. It was all kinds of cold, soggy, and stale; the only saving grace was the coffee that was the only item on the menu that tasted like it was supposed to. Kirk, however, didn’t seem to mind, as he plowed through it without much concern.

“You’re James Kirk,” some bushy eyed cadet said from beside Kirk. He looked like a fool standing there, tray in hand as the already cold food became colder.

“It’s Jim,” Kirk said, not even bothering to look up from his own food.

“Yeah, but you’re him,” the cadet continued. “You look just like your dad.”

That caused a response.

Kirk paused mid-bite, toast in hand before he very calmly set it back down on the rim of his plate.

“Your point being?”

“What’s it like?”

McCoy studied the situation carefully. Kirk had tensed up and, for the first time since he had met him, had yet to make a smart ass response or obnoxious comment. It was only as he eyed the cadet—finding his dislike for him growing by the second—that he noticed Alice standing behind him, watching and listening in.

“Right now, it's irritating,” Kirk said, his voice dangerously even.

It was as the cadet looked like he was going keep talking that McCoy decided he had enough. “Beat it, kid,” he growled. “Some of us want to eat breakfast in peace.” The glare that Kirk was immune to worked easily on the cadet as he quickly spun around to leave.

And ran right into Alice.

She had heard what was going on and set her tray down in anticipation, waiting patiently. As the cadet had turned to scurry off, Alice walked forward, flipping the bottom of his tray upwards and forcing it against his chest as she seemingly collided with him on pure accident.

Oatmeal and smooshed fruit clung to the cadet’s uniform as the milk slowly drained off of him in a splattered mess. The dishes clattered onto the tile floors loudly. McCoy could have sworn that the cadet's mouth made the perfect, stereotypical look of surprise as he stared down at his ruined uniform in disbelief and shock.

“Oh my—” Alice covered her mouth in apparent horror. “Oh my God,” she said, her voice wavering with embarrassment and dismay. “I am so sorry. I didn’t even see you there.” Alice reached out her hands as if to reassure him, but changed her mind. “God, I’m such a ditz,” she said, words rushing out of her mouth. “Here let me help you.” Alice straightened out the tray the cadet had a death lock hold on before she bent down to pick up the dishes and utensils off of the floor, avoiding touching any of the spilled food, before she placed them back onto the tray.

“Again, I am so, so sorry,” Alice said with full sincerity. And then she straightened up, dropping the façade. “You really should hurry up back to your dorm though,” she said quietly, coldly. “You are required to be present in a clean uniform.” Her eyes narrowed slightly, the gleaming blue, green, and gold of her eyes dangerous. “You know, regulations and all.”

McCoy watched Alice follow the cadet with her eyes as he ran out of the mess hall before she retrieved the tray she had set down earlier. She didn’t look smug as he would have if he had played someone as well as she had. Her expression was blank as if tearing that kid a new one hadn’t even fazed her. It was either terrifying or impressive.

“You alright?” Alice asked as she took a seat next to Kirk.

“I’m fine,” Kirk said flatly.

“Really?” Alice asked. She then smiled softly at him. “Because you look like crap”

Kirk shook his head. “How is it that you and Bones are perfectly fine from last night?”

“I have a high metabolism,” Alice said as she began to dig into her food.

“High metabolism, huh?” McCoy asked, not believing her for a second.

Alice smirked at him. “High tolerance. I’ve been going to Joe’s since I was old enough to buy my first fake ID.”

“That’s illegal,” Kirk said chastising.

“So is adultery.”

“She’s got a point, Kirk,” McCoy added.

“Wait,” Kirk said shaking his head as his slightly as his hungover mind finally focused. “You lived here?”

“Live,” Alice answered. “I have an apartment a few blocks away from Joe’s.”

“Didn’t think cadets could afford their own apartments,” McCoy said with a raised eyebrow.

“They can’t,” she admitted.

“So what are you, daddy’s money?” Kirk asked.

McCoy saw her flinch at that, but she tried to hide it behind a spoonful of the spongy oatmeal.

“Something like that.”

Kirk must not have noticed her flinch though. “So are we good enough friends for me to crash at your apartment in case my roommates don’t pan out?”

Alice dropped her spoon having clearly lost interest in her breakfast and gave Kirk an unamused look before leaning in slightly. “Let me be perfectly clear. Under no circumstances will you ever, _ever_ make it into my apartment.”

“I thought we were friends,” Kirk whined.

“As your friend,” McCoy finally interjected, feeling like the chaperone more than a doctor, “I suggest you drop it.”

Kirk gasped with fake surprise. “We’re friends?”

“You’re such a child,” McCoy sneered, but Alice was chuckling softly, so he didn’t mind Kirk’s immaturity too much. He nodded at her to get her attention. “What’s on your schedule for today?”

“Psych,” she grimaced. “Then physical.”

“Ouch,” Kirk winced sympathetically. “I managed to get that over with yesterday.”

“Lucky,” Alice said dryly, but her cryptic gaze remained on McCoy. “What about you?”

“Meeting with my advisor to sort out some discrepancies in my schedule.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Alice asked curiously, stacking both Kirk’s and McCoy’s trays on top of her own.

“It’s designed for someone who doesn’t already have an MD.”

“Show off,” Kirk repeated, though this time he was in a slightly better mood.

Alice rose to her feet, stepping out from behind the table gingerly, collecting the trays from the table. “I better get these evaluations out of the way. Lunch?”

“I’ve got a meeting with Pike,” Kirk shrugged.

“Who knows how long it will take to fix my schedule,” McCoy offered.

“Dinner then,” Alice said, smiling. “Don’t be late, boys.”

McCoy couldn’t stop himself from watching Alice leave. He was nowhere near as obvious about it as most would have been as he traced the outline of her red uniform. But unfortunately for him, Kirk noticed, a ridiculous smirk plastered on his face.

“Thought you were done with that _horseshit_ ,” Kirk pressed.

McCoy sneered at him. “The hell you talking about?”

“Relax, Bones,” he snickered. “There’s no harm in looking.”

“Don’t be such a child,” McCoy growled.

“I saw the way you two were talking last night. She’s got a thing for you.” Kirk winked at him. It was the second time he had brought it up in 48 hours.

McCoy rolled his eyes.  “There a reason you keep bringing that up?”

“So you’re not interested?” When he only received a glare he continued on. “Meaning you won’t mind…?” Kirk raised an eyebrow.

“Jesus, Kirk! She’s not property,” McCoy snarled scornfully.

“I know that. I just don’t want to step in on your territory.”

“You're unbelievable,” McCoy said, rising to his feet. Kirk followed closely behind.

“It’s part of my charm.” Kirk gave him a ridiculous smile. “See you around, Bones.”

McCoy only groaned as he waved Kirk off.

* * *

 

The loud cracking of McCoy’s neck made him realize just how tense he was. Two days into his life contract with Starfleet and it was already taking its toll. Though, his attempt to pickle his liver almost every night for the past six months probably wasn’t doing him any favors either.

McCoy sighed loudly, wiping the sweat from his brow. He could understand why they were required to wear uniforms: unity, to emphasize that every member of Starfleet was part of a team, to identify corps and rank. What he couldn’t understand was why they had to make the damn things out of a material that conducted heat as well as wearing a full-body suit of wool.

He tugged at his collar before continuing to walk across campus.

Six months ago he’d been drinking vintage wines reasonably at the most expensive restaurants in Atlanta or while attending the parties of some of the wealthier citizens that were honored to have him, Georgia’s rising star in medicine, in their presence. He had a job he loved, the best friends anyone could ask for—much more civilized than the people he had to deal with now—and a home he could be proud of. He’d had the perfect wife, the perfect life.

_Murphy’s law,_ McCoy thought bitterly. _Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong_. And it had all gone catastrophically wrong all at once.

And that’s why he was here, putting himself through what felt exactly like college all over again, right down to the annoying freshmen that bugged the shit out you. His first round of college had been hell. Having to ultimately do it all over again…words could not describe just how horrendous it felt.

At least he managed to get the advisor to fix his schedule. It took a lot of time and quite a few phone calls, but they managed to figure out what to do with him. Apparently, he was as big of a catch as the recruiter had said he was, but that didn’t mean they knew how to deal with a cadet that was already a board-certified doctor.

McCoy still had to take all the other classes required by all cadet’s despite what track they were on, the general education classes to continue with his analogy; but they had allowed him to drop almost all of the classes required for the med track specifically, only making him take those reserved for the last year or so that were tailored for working on starships and dealing with unknown illnesses, diseases, et cetera, that could come from unexplored worlds—the mere thought of having to do so sending his anxiety levels through the roof.

But with gaping holes in his schedule, he needed to supplement the removed classes with working in the on-campus hospital. Starfleet Academy couldn’t let him have any free time despite the fact that he had a medical degree over the others. That would be unfair.

_Unfair_. McCoy thought murderously. It was the exact word his advisor had used. _The man probably doesn’t even know the meaning of the word_.

What was unfair was the fact that every cadet, every single damn one of ‘em, would stare at him as they passed by. Some of them didn’t look old enough to have hit puberty yet, and here he was, old enough to be a bitter divorcee already.

The only people, despite one of them who kept bringing up his age, who didn’t seem to care that he was older than they were, were Alice and Kirk.

Six months ago if he had found himself in their company, he would have thought that he had finally hit the bottom, that it couldn’t get much worse. Now, as he found himself walking around a goddamn campus in a tacky red uniform with the promise of space travel looming before him, he optimistically—and uncharacteristically—thought that he might be digging himself out of the sinking pit. Not that he’d ever let on to that. God forbid Kirk ever knew that McCoy had any sort of decent thought about him.

McCoy continued making his way back to his dorm room—he still couldn’t get over the fact that he was back in a dorm—opting to relax for what might be the last time until classes finally started. He wouldn’t have even noticed the iridium statue if the sun hadn’t caught it in such a way that blinded him momentarily.

He wasn’t really sure why he had stopped to look at it. But there was no way that he would be able to un-see it.

Underneath the statue, there was a plaque that read “Captain George Samuel Kirk of the _U.S.S. Kelvin_.”

That cadet had been right. Jim really did look just like him.

* * *

 

_There’s no fucking way one family could have been that unlucky_ , McCoy thought. But the evidence was irrefutable, flashing up at him from his PADD:

“George Kirk. Born 2204 in San Francisco. Attended Starfleet Academy 2222-2225. Married to Winona Davis 2228.86. Commissioned on the _U.S.S. Kelvin_ , Science Division 2227.09. Promoted to First Officer 2232. Son James Tiberius Kirk born 2233.04. Killed in Action 2233.04. Posthumous Medals: _Medal of honor; Kelvin Cross; Distinguished Service Award_.”

Ever since he had seen the statue of George Kirk, McCoy had spent his free time reading up on him. At first, he wondered how the hell Jim could be related to the man. Now, he had a vague notion as to why Jim didn’t seem to be related to George at all.

He didn’t even hear Kirk approach until he was clasping him on the shoulders from behind, causing McCoy to jump.

“Hey, Bones!” Kirk greeted him enthusiastically, goofy smile plastered on his face. “What’re you reading?” he asked as he sidled up next to Bones on the bench. They were seated outside of the Mess Hall, where they had agreed to meet Alice.

McCoy could have lied but didn’t think that was the best idea. Certainly not a way to make a good first impression with a new friend. _God damn, are we friends?_ McCoy thought.

“About Captain George Kirk.”

The smile that Kirk had been wearing dissipated instantly and his eyes went dark as he closed himself off. The relaxed and playful behavior of his was swapped with something much more defensive.

“You saw the statue,” he sighed, running his hands through his hair.

“It’s kind of hard to miss, kid,” McCoy shrugged.

“I know,” Kirk all but groaned. Then he waited for it, but McCoy just kept reading from his PADD. From where he was sitting, Kirk saw him switch from the article on his father to one that was about some new medical advancement that he could barely follow.

“And?” Kirk asked, annoyed.

McCoy knew what he was asking after. He wanted McCoy to get all of the overly personal questions everyone would want to ask him so that he could angrily refuse to do so in such a way that made sure they never brought it up again. But if Kirk hadn’t asked him about his life, McCoy wasn’t about to do so.

McCoy looked over at Jim, his eyes sincere, “And if you ever need someone to drink with you about it, let me know. It’s always better to have a good excuse as to why you’re passed out on the barroom floor,” he said, before returning his attention back to his PADD

Kirk looked at him with a questioning frown. “Is this you being nice?”

“I know. I feel like I need to bathe in acid,” McCoy smiled but didn’t look up from what he was reading.

“You’re alright, Bones,” Kirk chuckled.

“Yeah, but keep that to yourself. It’ll ruin the reputation I’m trying to start here.”

Kirk laughed softly, shaking his head. He then paused for a beat.

“Do you think Alice knows?”

McCoy looked up at him. “You saw what she did to that cadet this morning. Trust me, she knows.”

“Yeah,” Kirk sighed. Then there was a shimmer of light that returned to his eyes. “That was pretty amazing.”

“It was brutal.”

“That’s why it was so amazing.”

“What was amazing?” Alice asked as she approached.

“I was just telling Bones how amazing it was that you told _us_ not to be late, but here you are, arriving late,” Kirk fired off quickly with one of his signature smiles accompanying it.

Alice frowned at him in such a way that made it obvious she didn’t believe him for a second. “It took longer than I thought it was going to,” she shrugged.

McCoy frowned slightly. There was no reason that a psych evaluation and a physical would carry on for almost an entire die. She was lying about something.

“Well, I’m starving,” Kirk said, jumping to his feet. “Let’s go get something to eat.” He reached out as if to guide Alice forward, similar to how a significant other might guide their partner forward. An obvious flirtation.

What wasn’t quite so obvious was the reason why Alice recoiled violently away from him as if she had been struck.

Both McCoy and Kirk stared after her.

Alice smiled, trying to abate the awkwardness that was settling in. She massaged her herself up and down the length of her upper arm nervously. “Sorry,” she tried. “I wasn’t expecting that.” She then motioned towards the Mess Hall. “Shall we?”

McCoy saw Kirk’s frown and knew the kid wanted to question her about her reaction, at the very least. But as a doctor, he knew that was the worst possible thing that could be done at the moment. His heart ached. Alice had reacted exactly the way a victim of abuse would have. He hoped that he was wrong in his observation.

“Come on,” McCoy said, shoving him forward before Kirk could make things works. “Weren’t you starving?” Thankfully, Kirk took the hint and walked on, leading the way.

McCoy didn’t miss the small grateful smile Alice shot him before she followed Kirk.

Or the fact that her thumb was lightly tapping against her fingers on her left hand: index, middle, ring, pinky, then back again.


End file.
